The present invention is in the technical field of closures for storage containers. More particularly, the invention relates to closures for storage containers designed to dispense items from the container and store the container magnetically.
Cooking spices and other items are often stored in containers with specially designed closures that help dispense a container's contents. Often containers, such as spice containers, are stored in kitchen cabinets or on some sort of specially designed rack, which can take up cabinet or counter space. Similar storage jars can be found in other areas of the home such as peg boards in garages that sometimes have jars mounted to them and filled with loose parts like nuts and bolts.
A wide array of canning jars are available to consumers. Most of these jars have a standard system whereby ajar closure is attached to the jar with a jar screw band.
A number of patents disclose various kinds of magnetically hanging storage systems, some with dispensing closures.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,701,924 discloses a “Portable Magnetic Storage Device and a Method of Storing Material.” The storage system comprises a cap with a gasket, ajar, and a magnetic device embedded in the cap that allows for magnetic storage of material stored within the bottle sealed with the cap. The design does not include a dispensing capability without completely removing the cap from the jar and the cap design includes a gasket, which is unnecessary for enclosing and storing dry dispensable materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,381,949 discloses a “Magnetically-Hanging Spice Dispenser with a Continuously-Variable Hole-Size Selector.” The dispenser includes a plate with magnets, a cylindrical container, a cap with dispensing holes, a magnet attached to the cap, and a circular elastic cover with holes. The elastic cover with holes rotates to align and overlap at various levels with the cap's dispensing holes to provide a continuously-variable flow. The elastic cover is also meant to provide a way of sealing the container in a stably closed position. The design requires that this elastic cover be made out of an elastic material so that it can deform into a convex protuberance. The design necessitates the deformation of the elastic cover in order to rotate-making the cap difficult to place into an open position from the close position or, over time, weakening the seal when the elastic cover is in the close position. Furthermore, material to be dispensed will accumulate under the deformed elastic cover making it even more difficult to rotate and troublesome to clean. The design is meant for mounting on a horizontal surface only.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,748,569 discloses a “Self-Sealing Auto-Aligning Magnetically-Hanging Spice Dispenser.” The assembly includes a plate with magnets, a cylindrical spice container, a cap with dispensing holes and a circular cover, and a magnet attached to the cap. The circular cover can be rotated to cover a portion of the dispensing surface area. The circular cover does not act as a seal but rather as a method of providing a continuously variable flow. The design is meant for mounting on a horizontal surface only and the ‘self-seal’ design is not compatible with storage on a vertical surface as the spices will spill out before the seal is made.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,203 discloses a “Spice Rack with Magnetically Held Spice Containers.” The assembly comprises a removable closure body for a spice container and a stationary tubular holder with a magnet. The spice container is detachably secured to a stationary tubular holder. The magnet is retained within a specially designed tubular holder, which can only accommodate one shape and one size and is difficult to clean.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,528,775 discloses a “Container Assembly.” The spice rack assembly includes a rack and at least one container magnetically coupled to the rack. The magnet is at the base of the container on the opposite end of where the spices are dispensed through the container's lid. The design requires specially made caps and jars and therefore does not offer the possibility of a taking advantage of the wide array of jars already available on the market.
Canadian Patent 2,349,889 discloses a “Magnetically Hanging Spice/Sauce Dispenser System.” The disclosure includes a hanging dispenser system comprising a horizontally mounted plate and a container assembly capable of magnetically attaching to the plate. The design lacks jar closures especially a closure capable of selecting dispensing openings in order to dispense the jars contents. The design is meant for mounting on a horizontal surface only and the ‘self-seal’ design is not compatible with storage on a vertical surface as the container's contents will spill out before the seal is made.